School daze: Start could change again
9/28/05

Broward schools may start the 2006-07 school year in early August, as this year began. Or perhaps midAugust, as they did in 2004. Yet another possibility is to revert to the traditional first day, a week before Labor Day.(Read More)

Push on to extend summer
9/23/05

Citing hurricane activity, the August heat and family vacations as reasons, two South Florida lawmakers want a later start to the school year. (Read More)

Latecomers put pressure on already overloaded schools
9/7/2005

It happens every year.
Families arrive in Southwest Florida as summer draws to a steamy close. They rush to move furniture into new homes and find their way around an unfamiliar community over the holiday weekend. Figuring school starts after Labor Day — doesn't it everywhere? — they show up at local schools to register for the first day on Tuesday.
They would be wrong.
And every year, their reaction is the same: School started when? (Read More)

Too hot for school?
In Florida and elsewhere, some parents push for a return to a traditional class calendar.
9/6/2005

Florida's summers may seem best-suited for pool play, beach trips or vacations in cooler places north and west. But these days, July is for back-to-school shopping and August is for hitting the books.
Florida's public schools have pushed up opening day in recent years, with some starting as early as Aug. 1. By Aug. 15, all 67 of the state's school districts were in session; never mind that it was still summer by most any calendar. (Read More)

School on Aug. 8? Are they insane?
8/04/05

Among the children who will be trudging into Miami-Dade schools on Monday is my 5-year-old daughter, who enters kindergarten this year. When my wife told me the date our daughter would start school, my fifth question was: "Why?''
(My first four questions, in order, were: ''Aug. 8?'' ''Did you say Aug. 8?'' ''You mean, like, the eighth day of AUGUST?'' ``Are they INSANE??'') (Read More)

Early school start worries children, tourism industry
6/30/05

A heated decision: High school football to start later on 2006 calendar
9/1/2005

The summer heat has taken its toll on the high school football players across the state for the past two years, including the Thomson Bulldogs.
Thanks to a Georgia High School Association executive committee ruling on Monday, that will all change for the 2006 season. Practices will start three weeks later than they have for the past two years, and the regular season will begin two weeks later. (Read More)

Legislators push to delay start of school
10/20/04

Two north Fulton legislators are leading the charge to force school districts across Georgia to start school later. The first day of school begins as early as Aug. 1 next year in some systems.
"It's crazy. My constituents are saying something's got to be done," said Rep. Joe Wilkinson. "Summers belong to families. Children and teachers need a break and families need time together," he said. (Read More)

Australia-Bound
6/20/05

The Smiths are seizing extra week to realize a longtime vacation dream

The trip wouldn't have happened without an assist from N.C. lawmakers.

They passed a bill last year that keeps school from starting before Aug. 25. For Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools that means an extra week of vacation this year. (Read More)

Tourism season lengthens
Businesses see benefit of late date
6/07/05

The N.C. General Assembly passed legislation last year mandating that most of the state's public schools don't begin their fall term until at least Aug. 25 and end by June 10.
It's a law Grand Strand legislators have tried unsuccessfully to pass since 2002 in an effort to keep Carolinas' residents - who account for 36 percent of the tourism base - coming to the coast through August, and to have enough student employees to serve those tourists.
North Carolina's school start change is expected to have a positive economic impact on Horry County, said Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. (Read More)

Labor Day first, then school?
9/04/2005

School bells have been ringing for days in many Pittsburgh-area classrooms, but some state lawmakers want to ensure that no Pennsylvania public school starts until after Labor Day in coming years.
A bill in the state House of Representatives would require all schools to delay the first day of school until after Labor Day -- a move the proposal's sponsors say would help the state's amusement parks, which often cut hours and lose profits when their school-aged employees return to classes before the holiday. (Read More)

Backlash grows as some schools begin next week
8/03/05

For more families with kids in school, August is the new September.
In a shift that is confounding summer vacation plans and sparking outcries from both parents and the tourism industry, school districts are increasingly pushing the academic year into the lazy days of August -- with some districts starting classes as early as next Monday.
In certain parts of the country, such as the South and parts of the Midwest, many public schools have been starting before Labor Day for some time. But even in those areas, many are seeing the start date increasingly moved up. (Read More)

Parent Decries Lack of School Choice
9/07/04

Leader in S.C. House plans to file school summer-break bill
Proposal would guarantee 90-day vacation
9/10/2005

A state House leader said this week he will file a bill requiring that all school students be guaranteed a 90-day summer break.
Rep. Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg, speaker pro tem of the House, said his proposal is a different approach to efforts to get schools to return to traditional opening days that are closer to Labor Day. (Read More)

Legislators eye school calendar
12/17/2004

Beaufort County School District administrators recommend that school begin in mid-August next year, at least a week later than this year's start date. But that's not late enough for some state legislators.
Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Hilton Head Island, has filed legislation to be considered by the General Assembly this year that would prohibit public schools statewide from starting before Aug. 25. And Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach, has filed a bill that would establish a uniform start date no earlier than the Tuesday after Labor Day. (Read More)

Starting school during summer's dog days still seems strange
8/21/2005

There’s something jarring about the sight of big yellow school buses rumbling down the street on a sticky August morning.
According to the calendar on my kitchen pantry door, it’s still summer. Time to loaf once more by the pool, take a last-minute trip to the Smokies, chase fireflies in the front yard at dusk or simply sit on the porch wishing for a cool breeze. Homework, sports practices and early bedtimes can wait a few more weeks. I’ve got more daydreams to dream. (Read More)

Earlier start to school year has pros, cons
8/17/2005

How did the start of school get here so fast? Wasn't it just a few years back we didn't have to give up the lazy, hazy days of summer until September?
Chances are if you are holding on to the good ol' days, you didn't get your kids to school this morning. Times have changed as August now has become the new September. (Read More)

Why I want Texas to alter its public school calendar
5/25/05

Texas State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. offers rationale for a post-Labor Day start

It is time for Texas to change its public school calendar, which, through the years, has continued to creep up to ridiculously early start dates. (Read More)

TEA fined for late release of data
4/28/05

Bill may set later school start date
2/17/05

Support is growing for a uniform public school start date as state Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, filed legislation Tuesday requiring all Texas public schools to begin classes no earlier than the first Tuesday after Labor Day. (Read More)

Comptroller Strayhorn: Later school start could save millions
12/17/04